Nowadays, it is common practice to apply a sleeve of polymeric heat-shrinkable material over the cap of a container holding ingestible substances such as medication or edible products, to form a tamper-proof seal. The sleeve of polymeric material is typically applied to the individual containers as a post filling and capping operation at an automated station which slips a measured length of heat-shrinkable tubing over each container and cuts the dispensed length which remains over the container cap. A jet of hot air is then directed at the container to cause the polymeric material to shrink and thus form a seal.
The sleeve applicator stations that are currently used by the industry employ a guillotine type cutting arrangement in which a blade is displaced at high speed across the sleeve feed axis to sever the material in a single stroke. This cutting arrangement, however, suffers from premature blade wear. More specifically, the high stress generated at the blade tip during the cutting impact with the sleeve cause significant material erosion which can dull the blade prematurely. Thus, the blade needs to be replaced frequently in order to prevent sleeve miss-cuts.